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An Chang-nam (19 March 1901 – 2 April 1930) was the first Korean people aviator to fly a plane within the Korean peninsula.
An borrowed a single-engine plane from the Okuri Aviation School and on December 10, 1922, flew the plane over the Yeouido Island. Though it was not the first public plane flight in Korea, roughly 50,000 people visited Yeouido island to watch the first Korean fly a plane in his motherland. The flight was relatively simple, with An simply circling over the crowd. Following the display, he additionally flew in Seoul and made flight to Incheon. However, due to bad weather, plans to fly to more cities was cancelled. On his homecoming flight, he landed at the same airport he took off in. Donga Ilbo, a major Korean newspaper at the time, sponsored An's flights and documented his aviations and achievements. He returned to Japan after his flights over Korea in late December of the same year.
In 1925, An was forced to evacuate to China after facing oppression in Japan. Tokyo earthquake of 1923 and the subsequent anti-Korean riots may have played a major factor in his decision. After few years of residing at China (in which Korean nationalism prospered), he began to advocate for Korean independence movement. Despite his newfound activities, An's involvement in aviation did not end here. He established a flying school in response to an offer from Chinese warlords. An died while on a flight that crashed in April 1930. Although the cause of the accident was not supported by evidence, some historians speculate that foul play by Japanese officials may have been involved.
He was posthumously awarded South Korea's Order of Merit for National Foundation in 2003.
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